Blackstar
by Rannin
Summary: A wish becomes an unescapeable nightmare. Follow Ame and Ran'ningu through their lives- the ones they don't want.
1. Chapter 1

Her name was Adriana Casellano and soon, everyone knew everything about her. Her age (15), where she lived (1761 Debra Castle, Esienhower Ave, Alexandria, VA), what school she went to (Woodcreek High). But they didn't know her real name, or where she was now. Even I don't know for sure. We never may find out. But I do know what happened to her. And what happened to another girl, whose fate may or may not have been worse than Adriana Casellano's. But as the story goes on, you can decide this for yourself.

First of all, before we get any deeper than we already have into these girl's life stories, let me tell you this; this is all based off of a true story. Whether you believe me or not is up to you. But I can say with a full heart, that somewhere, this is happening to someone. True, it only happens to one in one million every few years, but it happens all the same. Don't try to stop it. It will only make them stronger. Enjoy.

Sun light streamed through windows three stories high. The Casellanos weren't particularly rich. They didn't have a limousine or hundreds of butlers and maids constantly running around, hurrying to find their mistress' favorite dress because their lives depended on it-which it might as well have. But they were wealthy enough to make sure that their precious offspring, Adriana, was not touched by anyone who posed a threat. This included the crowd at school, Woodcreek High, which, ironically enough, happened to be one of the least recommended public schools in the county. Why? Why would two parents with plenty (but not too much, remember) of money and an oversupply of protection send there one and only precious offspring to a public school that, from a distance, could be identified as the county jail?

Because Manfredo and Bernal Casellano once promised their daughter, when she was only at age four, that if she did what she was told for the rest of her life, up until she turned thirteen, she could make a request of them and they would have to say yes. Now, Adriana, as pretty and open to multiple education resources as she is, is more what you would call "a few fries short of a Happy Meal". But for some odd reason, instead of asking then and there for money to purchase the latest trends in fashion, or the newest Barbie doll that just had been released on the market, Adriana asked for a real life.

What this meant to her parents was a complete mystery when she first blurted out the words, but after explaining it a little further, Manfredo and Bernal's faces went from confusion, to anger, to determination, and finally, to a sad state of appearance that I can only identify as: defeat. They pleaded and begged her, not to throw away these immense opportunities that were being forced upon her in her home-schooling sessions, but she was persistent, and they eventually gave in to her demands.

As she stretched and yawned as she always did as soon as she woke up at 7:45 am each morning (with the exception of winter) she gently placed her feet into the baby blue silk slippers that were awaiting her perfectly tanned, manicured toes cradled against the side of her bed. Getting up she scratched her head and walked onto the polished marble floor of her bathroom, silently pulling her glossy sheens on black hair from the loose ponytail that held it captive each night, and allowed it to flow over her shoulders until reached the two inch mark above her perfectly shrunken waist.

No matter how many times she got shoved into lockers for being too stupid and weak at school, or detentions for "being wise" when answering questions in class, there was always a feeling inside her that made her heart jump for joy whenever she thought about Woodcreek. As always, she wanted to look her best, because today was a new day, and as her father once told her on a sunny afternoon, new days always bring prosperity and hope, no matter how hard you try to paint it black.

Thank God we don't have a dress code, she thought, as she pulled on one of her one-of-a-kind white button up shirts with the cut offs that included frills on the edges. Jeans had never been her favorite, but she forced a pair of tight blue ones on all the same. Beauty through pain, a CD cover once told her. Checking the mirror, this one near her door, one last time before she headed out into the wonderful, magnificent, never-gonna-kill-you world. But before she left she couldn't help but glance over at the one lone bookshelf that still remained in her room. Stacked neatly, row by row, arc by arc, was one of the few series she had made it through without struggling too much; Warriors by Erin Hunter. All it took was the first page of Into the Wild and the characters seemed to come to life, popping out of the pages and into her life. More than she knew.

It had been two years since she had finished the books, but the night was still clear in her mind. It happened to be the night she had asked her parents to be allowed into places such as Woodcreek. Over joyed by her first victory in ages, she had literally danced her way gracefully to her extended windowsill, where she perched herself and turned her face towards the full moon.

Gather tonight, she thought, as she looked down at The Last Hope. "I wish…" a spark seemed to emit from the sky, but disappeared as quickly as it came. She smiled to herself, willing it to be a sign from StarClan. StarClan was God, and God was StarClan. There was no Jesus, only Thunderstar. "Life is so perfect now," she whispered, feeling the strength slowly begin to build up inside her, "If only I could come to you," Adriana looked down at the book and brushed her fingers over the jacket, an idea popping into her head that made her laugh out loud, "Or you could come to me!"

Delayed reactions were a concept Adriana had never been able to quite grasp. Still in her day dreams of proms, first kisses, and C- report cards, she shut the window, not giving the words that had just emitted from her mouth a second thought. But none the less, it was only minutes later that a lone nerd, watching from his telescope across town, looked up to see what could only be described as the exploding of a black star. There was no logical explanation that he could come up with and, like Adriana (if she had seen it), never gave it a second thought. Until today, that was.

Noticing the time, she dashed out the door, nearly tripping on the multiple rugs that covered the floor and the stairs, tearing through the kitchen, the living room, the dining room, the other kitchen, and out into the sun light to catch a bus. On it kids were screaming and shouting, pulling at each other's hair, throwing gum and wads of paper, plucking hairs from the bus driver's balding head. Adriana was shoved roughly down into the isle, a few splotches of mud finding their way onto her jeans. Oh, what she wouldn't give now to be back on this scene.

Getting back to her feet, Adriana let herself be jostled and turned around until she was finally in a seat that wasn't already occupied. She always let people push her around, but it didn't bother her. One day, she would be rich and famous for being the good Samaritan she was, and all these scumbags would be rotting away in a prison cell, committing the crime of not treating her right.

"They're coming today, you know," a small blond haired girl kneeled on her seat and flopped her arms over the side so she could look at Adriana.

"Who is?" She asked, as she gently pulled her fingers through her hair.

The blond girl rolled her eyes, "Duh," the small gap in her teeth was showing as she spoke, "You know, those two reps from the gov of education to see how well each student is doing. Each year they choose someone to come with them to go live in a city of their choice and they get this HUGE sum of money and a REALLY nice apartment to live in-"

"Government of education?" She asked, looking up at the girl in mid-sentence. Her educator rolled her eyes and slumped back down in her seat. It was then that Adriana looked around noticing how exceptionally nice everyone had dressed, especially the girls. She heard the blond talking to her partner in the seat in front of her.

"I hear the male reps are always REALLY hot and the women ALWAYS look like total sluts that wanna gouge your eyes out if you look at them the wrong way!" Oh come on, no one actually believed that, did they? But now that it was brought up, Adriana forced herself to rack her brain of this "government of education" visiting any schools. She remembered reading it in the paper once last year about a boy her age's school visited by these people. He was chosen for this "opportunity of a life time" and was never directly heard from again. A few weeks later he was discovered lying in the woods, not moving. They had pronounced him dead at the scene, but after bringing him to the hospital it turned out he was in a deep coma. He hadn't woken from it since, as for as she knew. Some people had all the luck.

The bus pulled into the over-crowded parking lot of Woodcreek High minutes later, with kids pushing and shoving to get off well before the bus actually stopped. When the tires did screech to a halt everyone toppled out and ran inside the school, except for those who stayed behind to gaze at the glimmering car parked near the entrance. It must've been the "government of education". The two reps that had been mentioned earlier were scanning the premises, searching for the one they would take back with them of their own free will.

It felt like decades before they finally walked in the classroom door. Adriana's head shot up as she gazed at the two adults standing in front of her, one man and one woman. The man was slightly tanned, wearing a crisp black suit and nice black tie, his brown eyes seemed to flash red once in a while. He had what looked like a small scar across the bridge of his nose and pointed teeth that were more than worthy of a vampire.

The woman had darker hair that hung around her face like dead leaves, her eyes a scary yet alluring as her partner's. Her skin was a shining sickly pale, but her sharp face and generous mid-section more than made up for it.

The man turned towards the teacher, Ms. Boyd, "My name is Tristan Exum, and this is my," he cleared his throat a little, "co-worker, Elsie Larose."

Elsie took a step towards Ms. Boyd with a stretched out hand and they shook each other's. No one else could've detected it, but after years at starring at face after face on the streets, Adriana would've thought that Elsie Larose's smile was too forced and strained to be real. Tirstan Exum was all smiles, of course, but his eyes said something else as he scanned the crowd hungrily. His eyes finally rested on the spoiled, Hispanic girl who sat staring at Ms. Larose with a strange fear.

He smiled at her, as if reassuring her of the events to come. Larose silently nodded to Exum, as he whispered something that Ms. Boyd couldn't hear. She then turned to the teacher and asked a question that only members of the front row could hear- Adriana not being one of those members. Ms. Boyd looked hesitant for a split second, but then happily nodded and gestured towards the girl's desk.

Ms. Larose went to pull up an extra chair and sat down beside Adriana, watching over her shoulder as the lesson went on. The classes fast pace was frustrating enough with having someone lurk over your shoulder every second of the time, "I'm sorry," Adriana looked over her shoulder and whispered in a quiet voice to the woman, "But do you mind? I'm having problems as it is?" Ms. Larose's face began to pull back into a scowl but with a warning glance from Mr. Exum, smiled politely and settled back in her chair.

She watched like a cat about to pounce on a squirrel, watching as Ms. Boyd came over to look over Adriana's shoulder and pointed out what she got wrong. The teachers voice drawled on about why x = 7.6439 and not 59.341, Ms. Larose could see Adriana's fist tighten harder and harder around the pencil, as she was secretly fuming, taking all of her strength not to burst out sarcastically about her horrific problem solving skills. She smiled a bit and nodded to Mr. Exum, who pulled who walked out of the classroom, answering his call from an old friend in the process.

"Are you Christian?" was the last question Adriana expected to come out of Ms. Larose's mouth. She was being "interviewed" by her and Mr. Exum to see if she "qualified" for the GOE program, but we already knew the answer to that.

Our first victim shook her head in a way that made it look like she was looking at a rotting fish. "No," she finally answered verbally, "I don't really follow any religion…" her voice trailed off as she looked at the ground. A sudden thought crossed through her head that made her smile, "But I am Star-Clanian!" She giggled, not seeing the look of hatred/interest that crossed her companions' faces.

"Star-Clanian?" Mr. Exum asked, as if he had never heard the words "Star" and "Clan" put together in his life, which, considering the circumstances you and I will soon discover, he might as well hadn't. But he sure as hell knew what it meant. "Care to explain?"

Adriana smiled, glad to tell someone about her childish dreams and memories, "Star Clan are like the gods of the warriors of the four clans that rule the wild. It's from a book series I used to read as a child. I used to want to be just like them," Mr. Exum leaned back in his chair in satisfaction, while Ms. Larose leaned forward.

"Thank you for your time," she said curtly, as she motioned for Adriana to get up and leave. As she shut the door she could hear the two reps begin to talk quickly, as if they had been trying to solve a mystery for years and finally got a lead. But our protagonist couldn't be less interested in them. After all, after saying something like "Star-Clanian" to people like them, there was no chance of them ever taking her seriously ever again. Which was also true.

Why is it that we pine to impress our enemies, needing them to know that we are much better than them and always will be? Why do we make up stories to get attention, even when we are the most dull, poor-excuses for humans who ever walked upon on our perfect little planet Earth? It is because of creatures like Exum and Larose, who represent the demon in all of us, the demon we try to please to no avail.

Adriana was never one for camping and definitely not one for the woods at night, no matter how many Warriors books she read. But it was camping that was the test, and it was camping she would have to beat.

Wouldn't you know it, Adriana was the student from Woodcreek High that got selected to come out on the final test of their knowledge with Exum, Larose, and three others from the GOE. With them they had brought the other student that made the cut, a thirteen year old girl, Zena?, who looked as tired and miserable as her wish-buddy felt. But wanting to impress this girl, to show her who was going to be the better one, the leader, the winner, around here, Adriana pulled herself up to her full height and stared straight ahead.

One of the men that came with Zena, a bit younger but broader, his light brown hair pulled back into a loose pony tail, saw this and snickered. The other two looked back down at their hostage, who seemed to be rigid with shock, fear, amazement, and anger. You could smell her fear from miles away, although her face was stony hard and unblinking, staring down into the grass and now and then glancing up at the young, black haired man that had helped bring her here. His skin was as pale as hers.

Mr. Exum had the two girls stand up next to each other so that he could compare them in weight, height, looks, and whatever else a psychotic tyrant could look for. "Do you know why you're here?" He finally broke the silence. Neither girl spoke. He smiled and shook his head, "Let me start with this question, then," he began, "Do you know who I am?"

All that could be heard was the crickets chirping and the unnaturally cold breeze rustling the victims' hair. Adriana starred straight into her captor's eyes, which had turned completely red now, and knew the name was on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't place it. Zena, on the other hand, tightened her fists even more and looked away.

"You will soon," Mr. Exum smiled and stepped to the side, revealing another man a little taller than him with long, dark chocolate hair and a smile that highly resembled a snake that welcomed its prey into prey into its nest and then went in for the kill without another thought.

"There's only one thing you have to do," He walked closer until he was but two inches away from them, his breath coming out in clouds, despite the fact that he didn't seem cold at all, "There is something you must find in the middle of these woods. You'll know when you see it. Once you get to it, you won't have to do anything else," he laughed a little as he said this last part.

"What the fuck does this have to do with education?" Zena mumbled under her breath, although it came out more like a statement rather than a question.

Two hands were placed on my shoulders and I looked up to see Ms. Larose leading me away from the group. It seemed like decades before she finally let go and turned me to the direction of the dark forest. "This is where you begin," she stated roughly, completely unlike her character at Woodcreek, "Run until you find it. Walk and you die."

A loud ringing was set off in the air. Adriana clasped her hands over her ears and fell to the ground, but Larose kicked her until she got back to her feet, "Run, you little bitch!" she screamed and the girl took off.

The ringing wouldn't stop and seemed to get louder as she ran faster. She tried to cover her ears with her hands, but that only allowed her to smack her face into the ground as she tripped over a tree root. She screamed in agony as the ringing took over and her nose began to bleed, knowing it was broken. She finally got up and began to run, faster this time, until she spotted a light ahead.

There was a clearing, empty of debris, only consisting of two small orbs of light softly pulsing in midair. She didn't know what it was, only that it would offer comfort and sweet relief. Clutching her nose with one hand, Adriana raced towards them until something barreled into her from the side, knocking the breath out of her and sending her tumbling into the bracken. The light slowly faded away, but it didn't matter who had gotten there first. That was only a test to alert the Kurai Mori nekos of who would be more fun. They were both in with no way out, and that's they'd always wanted it.


	2. Chapter 2

Zena had never had a problem with dirt, but sleeping in it proved to be a bit much. Waking up with half of her face against a half-baked ground with the sun shining hard through the leaves, our second protagonist slowly managed to lift her head off the ground. Pressing her right palm against her right eye, she slowly dragged it down her face and looked up. iOh, God…/i she felt the area around her eyes and blinked rapidly, looking up at the trees. Surprisingly, she could see each leaf clearly.

iMust be a dream,/i she couldn't bring herself to talk. The only way she'd be able to see with glasses that never seemed to get clean could be in a dream. Zena did a double take as she saw the body lying near her. Tentatively, not wanted to touch her, she stuck out her foot and prodded her side, leaving bits of mud clearly visible on her white shirt. After kicking her a little harder, the person got up. Zena looked her over in disgust.

She was about four inches taller, with perfectly tanned skin and gleaming black hair that had obviously never had a knot in its life. Her clothes, despite being muddy, seemed to be glowing with wealth. Zena thought of her own appearance- pale skin, tangled, greasy, dyed hair, whatever t-shirt she had pulled off the floor, a hoodie, and jeans from two years ago. Who knew what shoes she was wearing- sneakers, perhaps.

"Here," the other girl stretched her open hand toward Zena, revealing two white pills.

Cautiously, she took them, and glanced back up at her "friend", "What are these?"

"Birth control pills," she responded, as she pulled more out of her pocket. Zena looked at her as if she had magically transformed into a combination of Voldemort and Ian Hecox.

Her next question was not "Why would I need these" or "Why do you have these" or even "Where are we", but "Do I have to swallow them or can I chew them?"

"Swallow," she responded, without looking up.

Zena groaned inwardly, remembering all the times she had told her parents (and of course, the school nurse), i"You/i know iI can't swallow pills!"/i But she stuffed them into her pockets anyway, hoping to eventually forget they were there.

Out of nowhere, things started bursting from the bushes. No, not things- ipeople/i. No, not people- icats!/i No, not cats…icat people?/i Zena heard a gasp- of idelight?/i- behind her as the older girl covered her mouth, her eyes shining. The two of them were instantly forced back to back as the five attackers circled them with their swords pointed at their chests. Glancing around, Zena couldn't help staring at them. Three men and two women, all looking completely normal except for the odd cat ears and tails that added to their appearances- not to mention their accusing looks in their cat-like eyes.

The woman behind her took a small step forward and sniffed them, shaking her head at the attacker in front of her. He nodded, some of the accusation leaving his eyes, but the swords remained where they were. Finally, he asked the cliché question of, "Who are you?" but that's where the cliché of this story ends. For now.

Eyes wide and shaking a little, Zena pointed to herself, about to reply, before being cut off by her companion, "Rainwhisker!" she sang happily, seeming completely oblivious to the fact that they could die at any second. The man, who seemed to be the leader, raised an eyebrow in confusion and glanced over at Zena, as if she might provide some explanation.

She shrugged as a sudden thought crossed her mind. Pointing to herself, her voice shaking a bit, she came out with, "Ran'ningu…?" It came out as more of a question. A younger man to the side of her narrowed his eyes, more in thought and slight bewilderment than anger.

The leader starred for a few seconds than asked, "Do we need to fight, or shall we escort you peacefully out of our territory?" No one spoke for what seemed like hours. "Neither," a new voice spoke up now, and the two girls turned to the speaker. Standing next to the group's leader, he made him look small compared to his height. His hair was white, although he looked as if he couldn't be more than 28 years old. His ice blue eyes seemed to show a certain strength that, at the same time, portrayed a certain calmness that seemed to affect those around him.

"Neither?" The leader turned to him, "Shiro, they are obviously ruju and they are trespassing on our territory! They don't seem to be kitti petto that wandered here by mistake…well, maybe that one," he made a motion towards Zena's companion.

"We should take them to Ao Suta," the white haired man replied calmly, "Maybe she'll know what to do," Understanding struck Zena like a blow to the face. She knew these people, er, icat-/ipeople, knew who they were, at least. They were warriors, or senshi, as she had called them and, known from the exchange she'd just heard, what they called themselves. The other girl seemed to recognize them too, but only by appearance, obviously not understanding that they wouldn't know "Rainwhisker" but would know "Ame U-isuka". What Zena had said earlier, Ran'ningu, meant Running, referring to her warrior name, Runningclaw.

At least now she could identify two of the nekos- Aka and Shiro- Redtail and Whitestorm. Ao Suta must've been Bluestar. And they were going to see her. Because they were trespassing. On ThunderClan (Kaminari) territory. And she could see. Clearly. And they weren't human. They were cats. Cat-people. Nekos. Not just them, she realized with horror, as she ran her hand along the top of head, being stopped by two furry ears.

iOh no/i She thought to the confrontation at school, those three people who had come, just as they had in Virginia, yesterday. Or was it today? Tomorrow? What time was it, anyway?

Only it wasn't Virginia they had gone to. No, it was Washington state. And it wasn't "Exum" and "Larose", either. It was Korsman, Mccoubrey, and Corey- more representatives. They were visiting Aquinas Private School, a single-sex ed school that gave girls a chance to express themselves academically and socially, proving them with just the right amount of exposure to the outside world while still keeping them within strict boundaries so that they wouldn't become, ahem, infected. But as always, Zena had been the exception.

A permanent outcast for life, it had taken her itwo years/i to make friends when she fisrt arrived in third grade. Hated and excluded from the start, Zena had clawed her way up to the top (well, nearly) mostly through aggression and a little pain here and there. Suicidal thoughts entered her brain last year and had only been saved by one thing: her passion for iWarriors/i. As childish as it had seemed up until now, it was the books that had kept her alive in more ways than one. And as I know, and as you know, they might end up destroying her- in more ways than one.

It hadn't taken long for Korsman, Mccoubrey, and Corey to find the next victim. It was early in the morning- Zena had been lucky enough to find herself in art for first period, which was located on the same floor at the basement, yet still above ground level. The art room had been her salvation until her classmate and yin-and-yang partner for life, Nancy Tierney, had plugged her iPad into the Smartboard's speakers and had chosen the Pandora station, "Today's Greatest Hits".

As you can imagine, Zena moved to the farthest table possible and had quietly turned on Celldweller, bending over so she could hear it through her iPad's tiny speakers as she scribbled aimlessly across the three of them walked in the room as the first verse began;

iYou must have wished on it

I saw them riding in on a blackstar/i

Scanning the room as they went, Korsman and Mccoubrey quietly patrolled the room, peering of the shoulders of the innocent girls as they chattered loudly and sang horribly off-key, their art (if you could call it that) straying quite far into the step-by-step, straight-line territory. Zena hadn't been the only exception to this art epidemic- there was one girl who Zena also despised, Shirley Hubbard, who had more artistic skill than Zena would ever admit.

Shirley wasn't mean, not at all, that was the problem. She was immature, not in a Yugioh Abridged kind of way, more like a Disney-princess-13-year-old-acting-more-like-a-5-year-old kind of way. And for whatever twisted reason, she seemed to really like Zena. The other big difference between the two of them was that Zena was heterosexual and Shirley was not. And that made things a bit uncomfortable at times. Shirley was like a string bean, minus the height. She was skinny, but had no muscle whatsoever. Her pale skin contrasted with the freckles that dotted her face here and there, and shiny orange hair constantly fell around her face, making her look younger. Mccoubrey paused while looking over her shoulder, narrowing his eyes in interest as looked down at her work. It was when she turned around with that goofy smile and an enthusiastic, "Hi!" that he turned away in disgust, all interest gone.

Zena couldn't help but look up and snicker, quickly returning to her drawing while secretly relishing her stalker's misfortune. It was a minute later that karma caught up to her, as Mccoubrey came around to her small area, not seeming bothered by the music and her cold determination to ignore him as she continued scribbling. He casually leaned forward, resting his right hand on the edge of the table, looking at the side of her face as her eyes narrowed and quickly stole a glance at him.

He was beautiful, were the first words that came to Zena's mind. But only he could fit her description of "beautiful". According to most girls in her class, Korsman was most likely to be considered "beautiful" with his tanned skin, muscular arms, clear even under his suit, and those piercing blue eyes that could stare right into your soul and convince you of anything. Corey might have appealed to girls who were a bit older- long, dark chocolate hair, almond shaped eyes and chiseled features.

But Mccoubrey seemed too pale to fit an Edward Cullen look, his physique not quite as muscular but still fit, and his hair ruffled and styled in a way you could only see by looking at pictures of Haihane from iSekirei/i. Only his hair was black, not white, and seemed to have flashes of silver underneath. And most strikingly frightening was the color of his eyes- yellow. And they were natural, no contacts.

A few seconds passed and Mccoubrey, sensing Zena's discomfort, slowly traced a finger from her hand to her elbow, which had been exposed by the sleeves she constantly rolled up for no reason at all. His touch sent shivers down Zena's arm, forcing it to become rigid.

iThere's no way to persuade

To kill of their crusade

They've come to grant the wish

You should have never made/i

Reaching his hand back as if it had never happened, Mccoubrey spoke softly, "That's quite an interesting picture you've drawn there." His voice had a hardness to it, reminding her of Zuko's or Caleb's, remembering when she had watched shows like Avatar and W.i.t.c.h.

"Um, thanks," she responded, her voice coming out shakier than she had hoped. Zena had always been one to get scared easily, but it was rare, iextremely/i rare, that she actually showed it. It was part of her fake image she had put up for everyone, including herself. This was shown in what she had drawn: An older version of herself, clad in armor, fighting off what must've been mutations of her classmates. He drew back, walking away towards the front of the room to meet up with Korsman and Corey, who had been talking to the teacher this whole time.

iSing Hallelujah 'cause you can't change anything/i

The camp entrance- it was just like Zena had pictured it. Big wooden double doors that seemed to come out of nowhere, a dark, musty tunnel, leading down to two more doors that would open up to the sunny Kaminari camp. Only when she had imagined herself walking down this path, she hadn't imagined walking next to an idiot who kept on giggling like a toddler, constantly feeling her new ears and tail.

Just as she had expected, the doors swung open to reveal a sun lit camp filled with tents and nekos, a tall stack of fresh-kill near the middle. To the left was Ao Suta's tent, right below the Takaiwa, or High Rock. The woman who must've been Ao came out of the tent flaps at this moment, walking over to her and the patrol. Her eyes matched Shiro's, but her hair was a long silvery blue that fell over she shoulders, with neat bangs obscuring part of her forehead.

Aka and the rest of the patrol dipped their heads in respect and side stepped a little to let Ao have a look at the two captives. Without taking her eyes off them, she called out, "Hanten!" A young woman came out of a small arch in the brambles and started running, quite daintily, toward them.

She bowed quickly before replying, "Yes, Ao Suta?"

Ao gestured toward Zena and her "friend", "Are these the two you told me about?"

Hanten smiled at them, seeing the looked over fear and confusion covering their faces. "Yes, I think so," she replied. Her voice was nice, very melodious. Aka gave her a confused glance before returning his gaze to Ao.

Ao swept her gaze over the people in the clearing. "I'll tell them, then," Running up to the Takaiwa, she yelled, "Let everyone old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Takaiwa for an Ichizoku meeting!" The two girls were herded towards the base of the Takaiwa by Shiro and Aka as the rest of the group split up to blend in among the gathering crowd. "Hanten?" Ao motioned for Hanten to join her on the Takaiwa.

"A few sunrises ago," she began, "I was informed by Suta that two people, not of our world, should come here and live with us. It was of their will and the will of Suta, and although we are not sure what they're exact purpose is or will be, we must welcome them into our ranks. They are here," she pointed down to the two humans. Whispers broke out among the crowd as some of them shot them looks of disgust or curiosity.

"You can't be serious?" A voice called out, as the crowd parted to let him through. "You're going to let ithem/i join? And ruin the flow of pure blood that flows through Kaminari? We don't even know what they are! Ruju? Ippikiokami? iKitti petto?/i What do you mean 'not of this world'?"

"We're Ningen," Zena surprised herself by stepping forward. She heard herself inhale quickly as she noticed that all eyes were on her, including the piercing ones of her accuser. Nobody spoke now, as if they could not comprehend what she had said.

"We're what?" The other girl whispered quietly, and Zena turned back to her and said, "Human."

"Impossible!" The accuser spoke up again, "How can that be? You look like us, you must be some sort of cat! Again I ask, what do you mean, you're not of this world?"

"What we mean is-" Zena took another step forward, sweat forming on her upper lip and her fists clenching and un clenching, heart skipping a beat every two seconds. Thinking, she began again, "What we mean is, we come from…" she thought, "A long way away. Some place foreign. And we don't know how to get back!" She could feel the stares coming at her from all directions, pleading, begging, hoping for her to slip up. "I don't want to be here as much as you don't, but please, we can't get back. We're not even sure how we got here in the first place…" she trailed off as she spotted someone in the crowd. Someone who's expression was the same as everyone else's, but his eyes couldn't betray his sense of knowing. Knowing who she was, what was happening, knowing that he was pleased yet a bit irritated with the way things were going down.

Ao spoke up again, "We will welcome them into Kaminari, and we will give them senshi names." She turned again to the two captives and looked at Zena's companion, "What is your name?"

Still a little stunned and obviously thrown off course a bit by the foreign language and the explanation Zena had just given that she couldn't figure out for herself, she stuttered, "A-Adriana…" she continued to star wistfully up at Ao.

Wringing her hands as Ao continued, "Adriana," her tongue seemed to struggle with the odd name, "From this moment on you shall be as Ame U-isuka. I would guess that you don't know how to fight," That was true. Now that Zena thought about it, a new wave over terror washed over her as she realized that she probably wouldn't stand a chance against anyone here, either. Or would she? she thought of the ears and tail that had sprouted from their bodies. Maybe, anything is possible..? "And so you will learn fighting and hunting from Yanagi Kegawa," The white haired woman that had been on the patrol stepped forward, a bit hesitantly, and bowed to Ame. Ame, not knowing what to do, slowly bowed, looking around as she did so, and then followed Yanagi off to the side.

"And you?" Ao's attention was turned towards Zena now.

"Zena," it came out softer that she had hoped, hating how her first impression to these cats seemed weak and helpless.

Ao continued, "From this point on you shall be known as Ran'ningu Tsume. You will be taught fighting and hunting by Nagai O-"

"iWhat?!/i" The voice of the original accuser rose from the crowed as he, Nagai, stepped forward from the crowd again and looked up at Ao in outrage. Remembering his place, he tried to compose himself, bowed slightly, and then looked up at Ao again. "Ao Suta," he began, "I'm sorry for my outburst, but seeing as I am a more…" he glanced at Ran'ningu, "skilled senshi, it might be a waste of my time and talents to work with this…" he trailed off again, motioned towards Ran'ningu, who slightly narrowed her eyes and, despite the situation, couldn't help crossing her arms defiantly.

"Nagai O," Ao appeared calm, but stern, "It has been three months since you became a senshi. If you have such great talents and so much time on your hands, despite your senshi duties and the duties you owe to your Ichizoku and Ichizoku Nakama, then I'm sure you'll have no trouble at all working with a Ningen who knows nothing of fighting. I would wish you good luck, but you have proven that you do not need it." A glint of humor dashed her eyes and Ao watched Nagai's eye begin to twitch slightly.

If this had been a sitcom that Ran'ningu had been watching on TV at any given time before this, this would've been the time she would've laughed, or at least stifled a giggle. But now, as the confusing, yet faint, realization of what was happening dawned on her, she knew that laughing was the last thing she had wanted to do.

Glancing over at Ame, who seemed to be getting more comfortable with the idea, began glancing over at Yanagi every five seconds, looking as if she wanted to ask her a question, but kept silence for Ao's sake. Ao turned back towards the Ichizoku, "From now on we are to treat them as if they were forest-born. They will sleep in the senshi tent and be free to use the hot springs and share food from the fresh-kill pile as the rest of us would. Anyone who has a problem with this," her eyes drifted quickly to Nagai, and back again, "can speak with me." She leapt down from the Takaiwa as the cat people began to drift apart.

Ao motioned Ame and Ran'ningu over, as well as an elderly woman from across the clearing, who soon came running over. Ao looked them up and down, "Well," she began, "One thing's for certain- you'll need new clothes." It was at this point that Ran'ningu looked down at her ratty hoodie and mud streaked shoes. Not that the clothes she received here would most likely be any better after a battle or two.

"Madara," she addressed the old woman, "Would you mind terribly sewing some clothes for the two of them?" More quietly, she added, "Kage'll be able to spot them a mile away," she gestured towards Ame's white shirt. Madara smiled kindly and nodded. To their relief, she seemed to be a bit more welcoming of their existence.

Turning back to Ran'ningu and Ame, Ao said, "For now, the two of you may get situated in the senshi tent. Women sleep on the right side. I'm almost certain that there are two beds not being used. Tomorrow, your temporary shisho will show you around the camp and territory. You are new here, so don't begin to understand everything right away. If anyone gives you an exceptionally hard time, talk to me." She walked away as Yanagai jerked her head toward what must've been the senshi tent.

As the two of them began walking over, Ran'ningu didn't blink once, feeling as light as a feather yet as heavy as iron, as words of love, sadness, and anger echoed in her head.


	3. Name and Terminology Guide

**Takashimo: Yes, poor Ran'ningu ^^; Or poor Nagai ;) Also, love the username :D**

**Twitchtail: I thought that would happen to people, so I made this:**

Kaminari (Thunder)

Rida (leader): Ao Suta (Blue Star)

Fuku (deputy): Aka O (Red Tail)

Kankoshi (medicine cat): Hanten Ha

Senshi (warriors):

Raion Shinzo (Lion Heart)

Tora Tsume (Tiger Claw)

Shiro Arashi (White Storm)

Kurai Sutoraipu (Dark Stripe)

Nagai O (Long Tail)

Ran'ningu Kaze (Running Wind)

Mausu Kegawa (Mouse Fur)

Yanagi Kegawa (Willow Pelt)

Ame Sora (Raion Sky)

Ran'ningu Tsume (Running Claw)

Jisshu-sei (apprentices):

Hokori Ashi (Dust Paw)

Gure Ashi (Gray Paw)

Kasai Ashi (Fire Paw)

Karasu Ashi (Raven Paw)

Suna Ashi (Sand Paw)

Kuinzu (queens):

Shimo Kegawa (Frost Fur)

Burindoru Kao (Brindle Face)

Kin'niro Hana (Golden Flower)

Supekkuru O (Speckle Tail)

Choro (elders):

Hanbun O (Half Tail)

Ko Mimi (Small Ear)

Patchi Kegawa (Patch Pelt)

Ichi Me (One-Eye)

Madara O (Dapple Tail)

Kage (Shadow)

Rida: Kowareta Suta (Broken Star)

Fuku: Kuro Ashi (Black Foot)

Isha (doctor): Ran'ningu Hana (Running Nose)

Senshi:

Futokute-Mijikai O (Stumpy Tail)

Tamaishi (Boulder)

Tsume Kao (Claw Face)

Yoru Kegawa (Night Pelt)

Jisshu-sei:

Chairo Ashi (Brown Paw)

Nureta Ashi (Wet Paw)

Sukoshi Ashi (Little Paw)

Kuinzu:

Yoake Kuraudo (Dawn Cloud)

Akarui Hana (Bright Heart)

Choro:

Hai Kegawa (Ash Fur)

Kaze (Wind)

Rida: Segatakai Suta (Tall Star)

Kawa (River)

Rida: Yuganda Suta (Crooked Star)

Fuku: Oku Shinzo (Oak Heart)

Nekos Outside the Shizoku (Clans):

Kiiro Kiba (Yellow Fang)

Yogore (Smudge)

Omugi (Barley)

Other names:

Taka Shimo (Hawk Frost)

Meipuru Hikage (Maple Shade)

Azami Tsume (Thistle Claw)

Other terms:

Ichizoku- Clan

Ichizoku Nakama- Clanmates

Shukai- Gathering

Takaiwa- High Rock

Okina Iwa- Great Rock

Haha Kuchi- Mother Mouth

Munsuton- Moonstone

Sandapausu- Thunderpath

Yon Ki- Fourtrees

Monster- Monsuta

Snakerocks- Jaiwa

Sunningrocks- Nikkoyoku Iwa

Toreningu Chuku- Training Hollow

_SINGULAR AND PLURAL FORMS: "Rida" is the same, the plural of "fuku" is "daigin", "kankoshi" is the same, the plural of "isha" is "ishi", senshi is the same, the singular of "jisshu-sei" is "minarai", the singular of "kuinzu" is "joo", "choro" is the same, the singular of "shizoku" is "ichizoku", the singular of "ruju" is "kuchibeni", "ippikiokami" is the same, the singular of "kitti petto" is "koneko petto"_

_HONORIFICS: The honorifics like "-san", "-kun", and "-chan" will not be used. Instead, respect will be shown by characters of lower rank calling one of higher rank by their full name and talking to those in their same rank or below by the first part of their name. For example, Shiro Arashi would have to call Ao Suta "Ao Suta", while she would just call him "Shiro". Shiro could call Raion Shinzo "Raion", as well as just calling Gure Ashi "Gure", while Gure would have to call him "Shiro Arashi"._

_EXCEPTIONS TO ^: Those of lower rank may call those of higher rank by their first name once their name has been spoken in a conversation. If there are two members of an Ichizoku with the same first name, you'd usually call them by their full name, especially if they were the same gender. While making formal announcements (Ichizoku meeting, Shukai) people will always be called by their full names as a show of formality and to avoid confusion._

_TITLES: "Kusuri Neko" translates directly into "Medicine Cat", but for whatever reason (I really can't remember), the terms "kankoshi" (nurse) and "isha" (doctor) will be used instead. Also, instead of saying "Thunder Clan" (Kaminari Ichizoku) the clans are referred to as just Thunder, River, Shadow, Wind, and Star, not bothering to put the "Ichizoku" or "Clan" at the end._

_LIVING ARRANGMENTS: Camp set up remains basically the same. Everyone (with the exception of the kankoshi or isha) sleeps in a large tent with males on the left and women on the right. The kankoshi or isha has a cabin off to the side (plus a clearing) where there a three beds on the first floor, shelves of herbs, and a basement where there are more beds. All of the beds (except for the three on the first floor of the cabin) are all more like hammock-cots. For the warriors and apprentices they're more like hammock-cot-bunk beds. Yeah. There is also a small path that leads to down to the hot springs (two, one for men one for women) where the clan members can wash off. Just thought it would be a good comic relief spot._

_AGING: Ran'ningu and Ame still have human DNA despite the fact that they look like cat mutants. This means that they will age a lot slower than everyone else. For a young boy/girl, a month = a year when you're between the ages of 1 and 6. When you're between the ages of 7 and 13, two months = a year. 14 – 21, 6 months = a year. 22 + it's a free-for-all, meaning I have no idea how each person/cat/neko is going to age, I just go with the flow._

AND NOW YOU KNOW.


	4. Chapter 3

**Takashimo: Tashikani. Watashi ga nihongo ni senshi no namae o henkan suru dakede wa nai nda shitte ureshīdesu. **

Adriana stretched and yawned as she always did at 7:45 am every morning. Except this wasn't every morning, it was certainly well before 7:45, and she was no longer Adriana Casellano, but Ame Sora of the Kaminari Ichizoku. As she swung her legs over the top "bunk" (which was really an elevated cot made of hammock material that was about a foot or two above where Ran'ningu slept) she was still have asleep, so when she tried reaching for the shoes that weren't there she soon found herself face to face with the ground. It was then that she woke up, remembering where she was. Ame looked around, her eyes struggling to adjust, hearing the soft snores that were coming from the other side of the tent.

"Good, you're awake," Ame gasped in fright as a female voice sounded behind her. She turned out and could barely make out the face of Yanagi, " Hanten Ha would like to see you in her clearing, and then we're going to tour the territory." Still breathing heavily, but able to get herself together, Ame stood up and noticed for the first time that Ran'ningu wasn't in her bed and that a pile of her clothes were on the ground. She gave Yanagi a questioning look, "She went out with Nagai a while ago. Madara O had finished making her clothes and now she's not sure what to do with her old ones. We'll probably burn them." Ame looked down sadly at her own clothes as she walked toward the entrance to the tent.

She opened the flaps and looked around for the first time; the camp was lit only by the slowly rising sun. Multiple tents could be found along the thick bramble walls, along with the doors they had come through yesterday, and two holes in the wall that seemed to lead to Hanten's clearing and the hot springs. She headed for one of them and walked down the battered wooden steps that had had dirt pushed over them many times and had small plants threatening to overthrow it.

When Ame got into the clearing she was surprised at how large it was- not that it was large, just larger- and how there was a small cabin off to the side. Approaching it she knocked on the wood twice before she was greeted by the young woman who had inspected her the day before. Getting a better look at her now, she could tell right away that is was Spottedleaf. Her soft hair was tortishell patterned and reached just below her shoulders, she had a dark green dress with sleeves that reached down to her elbows, there was chain mail draped over her until her waist, where it was met with a brown leather belt that had a small book bound to it. She did smell as sweet as you were told.

Her soft face broke into a smile, "Ame, come in," Ame stepped through the door and looked around at the cluttered cabin.

"Why did you need to see me?" she asked, as Hanten kneeled down to open a cabinet near the floor. Her question was answered as a small pile of clothes come to meet her at eye-level, accompanied by a pile of bandages. She twirled a bandage around her fingers, "What is this for?"

Hanten took one of Ame's hands in hers, "You're skin, it's…" she searched for words, "very delicate. For ichizoku life, I mean. We're going to wrap the bandages around your body so that it'll be more protected for the first few moons that you're here." Not sure what to do or say, Ame blinked at Hanten and looked around skittishly. She continued, "I'll have to put the bandages on you before you can put the other clothes on," she motioned toward the stack next to her feet.

"Okay," as if she suddenly knew what to do, Ame shamelessly began to undress infront of Hanten. She was not ashamed of her body in any way- she knew she was as skinny as a stick with generously sized breasts and completely smooth skin. When she was done she turned around and stuck out her arms so that Hanten could wrap the bandages more easily. The scenes that follow are very homo-erotic. Since I, as the story teller, really can only describe homo-erotic scenes when it's man-on-man, I'll have to let your imagination do the rest of the work since I have no real desire to do so.

When Hanten had finished, Ame was covered in the bandages only leaving the areas of her skin that were below the elbow, her knee, and (of course) her face, clear of them. She quickly pulled on the rest of her clothes and exited the cabin, feeling slightly violated. But the feeling soon passed as she stepped into the clearing and noticed the fresh kill pile. The feeling of violation was soon replaced with excitement as she realized what she would have to do. Turning to Yanagi, she asked, "I get to eat that? Real fresh kill? And I'll get to hunt?"

The corner of her mouth turned up a bit as Yanagi answered, "Yes," Ame squealed with delight. _I'm getting a full warrior experience!_ "Would you like to see the territories now?"

Surely, this could only be a dream. Ame nodded and followed Yanagi out the doors. Sweat scents of the forests flooded over her new scent glands while she took it all in. "Which border are we going to?" she asked.

"Kage," Yanagi answered, "It's near the Sandapausu, so we'll have to be careful," Ame nodded again, not understanding half of what she had just said. But realization sparked her mind as she began to hear the familiar roar of cars somewhere ahead. She was struck with a small pang of sadness as she noticed that her first world would break into her warrior world. But cars were a part of the books, I guess.

As they came to the border, Ame could see straight into Kage territory. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as Yanagi laughed a little. "We won't stay here for long," she reassured, "We'll get going after I mark…" Yanagi's voice trailed off along with Ame's vision. Somewhere distant she could feel her head connecting with the ground as her body hit the earth. Violent images flashed by in blurs of pain through her eyes as she felt blood pouring from all around her. Her mind finally settled on a collection of images- knives, operating tables, more pools of blood, more knives, all in a darkly lit area. Bloodied surgeons, images from Silent Hill, looking down on someone, someone unrecognizable through all the cuts and blood and dirt. Their middle was torn open to expose the flesh and bones and organs, their heart lying next to their face which only had one eye still open, the other taken out of its socket and chopped up into bits.

The hands seemed to be reaching for her, singing a soft lullaby that soon turned into a chant that she couldn't make out, only hearing bits and pieces of it. She felt the hands clawing at her, dragging her down, down, and up, up as she felt a rush of emotions, ones that were unthinkable, some too disgusting for her to even consider, but felt strongly all the same.

"Okay, I'm done. We can move onto Kawa now," Yanagi's voice brought her back to the present. Ame looked down at herself to see that she hadn't fallen at all and that she was still perfectly intact. Part of her wanted to lift the countless bandages to see if there were any scars, but found herself able to laugh the idea away. _Suta must have sent me a prophecy for someone, someone who'll meet a horrible fate. Poor guy, or girl, I couldn't really tell. How am I supposed to help them?_ All the same, Ame couldn't help feeling giddy and proud that she had received a prophecy.

But as the two of them walked along a human thought entered Ame's mind, _I forgot to take my pills!_ She had been taking anti-depressant pills, oblivious to her parents, for the past year or so after feeling the need to spice up her life and receive more attention in school. The plan had worked- everyone seemed to think she was special. But had she really needed the pills? And even if she hadn't, would her body have gotten so used to taking them that she really would need them now? But this could be thought of more tonight, tomorrow, or possibly never again, because now, Ame was in her paradise.

They entered the camp to the sound of Nagai yelling and his whip cracking against metal. A young eight year-old boy with orange hair, who had to be Rusty!, was holding his own pretty well. "I can't believe I'm watching this…" Ame starred in awe, until realization set in. "Oh my God! He's going to get hurt! Nagai, stop!" In the brief second he turned around, the younger boy not only nicked his ear, but unsheathed his claws and scratched them down his arm. Nagai let out a yowl of pain as he tried to cover his ear and arm at the same time.

Turning back to the boy, Nagai lunged, bleeding all over him in the process, and ripped off the blue collar he had been wearing. Staggering back and breathing heavily, still clutching his arm, Nagai glared at the crowd. His eyes rested on Ame, hissing, "You! You cost me that fight, you bitch!"

"Nagai!" Ao yelled as Hanten and Shiro ran to hold him back. Ame scurried out of the way, finding herself running behind the young orange haired boy, who Raion was now standing close to. Nagai continued to breath heavily as he was turned in the direction of Hanten's clearing. Sighing, Ao continued, "Sabita has proven himself worthy by losing his Ningen collar. Until he has earned his senshi name, he shall be known as Kasai Ashi. As for Nagai O, he will remain in Hanten Ha's care." She narrowed her eyes at the last part.

Not noticing until then, Kasai glanced over his shoulder at Ame, who was still crouching behind him a little. She smiled apoplectically at him, and he smile shyly back. The moment was broken by a loud bang as the doors slammed shut and another boy with long black hair come running into the clearing, screaming "Aka is dead!"

As he collapsed on the ground, someone called for Hanten to come back into the clearing. The crowd began whispering among themselves, as another person entered the camp. He could only be Tora Tsume, holding what must've been the limp body of Aka O. "Murderer!" Ame shouted, pointing at him. Ran'ningu stared at her in horror and tightly shook her head. Ame had broken the plot.

Tora glanced over at her, "What? Wait," looking down and then looking at Ao, "Who is this?" Still holding Aka's body, he gestured at Ame.

"She is not important right now," Ao spoke as if to hide any emotion, "What's important is how this all happened. Karasu has just announced Aka's death, and now here you are with the body to prove it."

Still a bit uneasy, Tora responded, "Aka was killed by Oku, the Kawa fuku. I killed Oku to avenge his death." Ao looked down to the ground, sadness clouding her face for a second.

"I know why," Ame whispered to herself.

"What was that?" Yanagi asked.

Ame stood up straighter, "Nothing! Nothing," Forcing herself to hold her tongue and not hurtle accusations at Tora, Ame took a few steps back and went to who she thought must be Suna Ashi- a young girl with sandy hair pulled back in a long ponytail. "Hi," she spoke softly, as not to interrupt Tora and Ao, who were speaking again.

Suna looked up, tears beginning to trickle down her face. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized Ame, "More Ningen scum? First you, than Ran'ningu, now the koneko petto? Just stay away from me! I want nothing to do with you." She turned and ran to the jisshu-sei's tent. Ame stared after her, wishing there was something more she could say. Suna, Sandstorm back then, had been her favorite character growing up.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Ame turned around to Ran'ningu looking up at her. The former reader noticeably shorter than her, only by a few inches, at least. "You can't just say stuff like that to Tora, you're not supposed to know that!" Sighing, she turned and said over her shoulder, "The Hell with you. Get yourself caught or whatever by whoever controls this stuff, I don't care." With those parting words, Ran'ningu disappeared into the senshi's tent.

"Is he going to be okay?" Ran'ningu asked Kurai Sutoraipu, one of Nagai's friends, also known as "Mccoubrey".

Kurai rolled his eyes, "Yeah, he'll be fine. Can't believe he was beaten by _that_," he glanced over at Kasai.

"Yeah, it is strange," was the only thing she could come up with.

Looking over at Tora as a way to escape, almost under his breath, he said, "You won't survive a day here," he began to walk away, when Ran'ningu's voice called him back.

"Yes, I will!" She coiled back in disgust at his insult.

He turned around and cocked an eyebrow, "Will you?" Ran'ningu glanced down at the ground, "You have no weapons training," he began counting off on his fingers, "No hunting experience, not to mention that you've never taken a cat form. You've never practiced any form of fighting-"

"That's not true!" She interrupted, remembering the past two years she had spent learning tae-kwon-do.

He laughed, "Anything you might have 'learned' in your Ningen world is _nothing _to what you'll experience here. In a fight with a real Shizoku senshi, your body will snap like that," he cracked a twig under his foot and folded his arms, smirking at the truth in his words. Ran'ningu could only glare at him as reality set in once again.

"Anything else I should know?" She asked, hoping he wouldn't answer.

Knowing this, he smiled, "Oh yes, there's more-"

"Kurai!" A yell from Tora cut him off as the two of them turned to look at him. He was standing near the body of Karasu, motioning for him to come over.

"Coming Tora!" He glanced back at Ran'ningu. "Good luck. If you ever need to be killed early, you know who to come to." Winking in an oh-so-reassuring way, he turned again and ran over to his superior.

Twitch twitch went the eye of the girl who'd been on the path to major success until the wish to get her out of her supposed horrid life had been made. _Why me why me why me why…_ but at the same time _Yes yes yes yes yes yes…_ What was going on. What is happening. Those two questions do not require a question mark.

Next morning. Wake up. Wake up. "Get up!" Yanked from the bed (if you could even call it that) Ran'ningu found herself on the floor, staring up at a frustrated Nagai. Glancing at his arm, she noticed the bandage put on it has some dried blood from yesterday. _That wasn't supposed to happen._ It was only because of Ame that Nagai had gotten distracted, and Ame wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. But she was, and so was Ran'ningu.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Yanking the armor from where it lay in a pile under the cloth that served as her sleeping arrangements, she carried it with her as the two of them exited the tent and soon found themselves on the path to the training hollow. The sun had almost risen, so it was a bit hard to see.

"You're not going to need that today," Nagai glanced over Ran'ningu's armor.

"Then why'd you tell me to bring it?" She asked, clearly annoyed.

He half laughed, half sneered, "I never told you to bring! Do you see me wearing anything but my clothes?"

"I see you not wearing a shirt," despite the situation, Ran'ningu had to stifle a laugh. It was this kind of humor she had possessed before the wish. But it was true- Nagai had taken off his shirt and she hadn't realized it until now.

He sucked in a breath, "That is _because_," he turned to face her, "Today, before anyone else is up, we're going to train in such a way that will make you feel real pain."

"Seeing you like this does cause me real pain, you're right," she gestured to his bare chest.

He continued as if he hadn't heard anything, although his eyes showed that he had, "If you were to be attacked without your armor, or your weapon, it would hurt a lot more than it would in an organized battle."

"You're going to fight me unarmed? As in me, like this, versus you with your whip included?" The humor was gone, replaced by shock.

"No, although considering all you've said, I do want to. If it wasn't for Ao Suta's orders, I would," he replied. "No," he repeated, "We're going to have a plain fight- no weapons, no armor. Just fists and skill. I want to see what you can do- if you can do anything at all."

"So I'm the one going to be tested, right?" She asked, "I'll be the one who needs to know real pain? Without the armor?" He nodded, "So why the hell d'you take your shirt off?"

This was met with a clear punch to the face that sent her reeling back. She staggered up, and Nagai, clearly noticing that she hadn't been prepared, had the upper hand. Shooting toward him, Ran'ningu went for his chest, but he caught the back of her wrist and snapped it up so that she was thrust backward. Without thinking, she kicked out her leg and felt it connect with his thigh, not hard enough to unstable him but enough to give her a little more confidence.

Yanking herself away from him, Ran'ningu stepped back a bit to give them each a bit more space. The shisho and minarai circled eachother for a moment, before Nagai made the next move. He came in behind her so fast that she barely had time to turn around before her face met the ground. Angry that she was losing so easily, she recovered enough to roll out of the way of his next attack and got up again. Forgetting everything she had ever learned about honoring your opponent in a fight, she ran as fast as she could and leaped on top of him, landing straight on his back.

With a small grunt of surprise, Nagai's knees began to wobble a little. Sensing this, he reached back for her and dragged her so that she was facing him directly. Still not on the ground, she wrapped her legs around him so that as she sank to the dirt, he was brought down too. She flipped around quickly so that he was now on the ground and punched him straight where he had punched her the first time.

"Alright, that's enough. That's enough!" Nagai pushed her away and got himself up, brushing some dirt off his shoulder before facing her again. "What you just did there was…" even he was at a loss for words, but not for long, "Not something a senshi would do. It was more of a…kuchibeni style- as in no proper training, no finesse, and definitely no skill. If you ever were to do that in a real fight, you might have a chance of getting some blows before you were killed. I believe I was right when I said you knew nothing."

Only one thought went through Ran'ningu's mind that day: But I still won.


End file.
